Shelf edge beam

ABSTRACT

A shelf edge support is provided which strengthens the front edge of a shelf particularly for point-of-purchase displays which are typically constructed of a paper or cardboard. The shelf edge support includes two L-shaped members which are configured to be attached to the front edge of a shelf.

FIELD

The present invention relates to product shelving and, more particularly, to a structural shelf support for point-of-purchase display shelving constructed of corrugated paper or plastic, cardboard or other lightweight construction material.

BACKGROUND

Point-of-purchase display shelves are widely used in outlet stores, discount stores and anywhere there is unused counter or floor space available which allows a vendor of goods to set up stands or displays to display the goods without having to acquire space or fixed shelving. Flexibility of design of point-of-purchase displays often result in displays with shelves having long spans. The shelf is fully supported along the back and sides. However, the front edge is often unsupported, or a metal support or brace is incorporated to strengthen the front edge of the shelf. The weakest point is at the longitudinal center of the shelf. Additionally, the middle front edge of the shelf often endures the most stress from product load, product restocking, customer use and abuse. Metal supports must be designed for the particular application and are not readily suited to retrofit a point-of-purchase display not designed to utilize a metal support.

Use of metal supports is expensive, requires additional time to construct, is not readily adaptable to various shelf widths and requires disassembly if the unit is going to be replaced after use. Accordingly, there is a need for a shelf support system that is lightweight, easily applied in manufacturing or to an existing shelf system, inexpensive and recyclable.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a shelf edge beam that includes two or more structural members which are configured to slip over the front edge of point-of-purchase display shelf. The shelf edge beam attaches to the upper and lower surfaces of the shelf and transfers the load from the middle of the shelf to the outer edges which are supported by the vertical sides of the shelving system. The shelf edge beam may be applied in manufacturing or may be applied to a preexisting shelf.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of separated members of the shelf edge beam of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the members of FIG. 1 assembled together with a wrap material shown separately.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembled shelf edge beam.

FIG. 4 is a left end view of the shelf edge beam of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an assembled shelf edge beam with end tabs.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational cut away view of a point-of-purchase display with products and shelf edge beams.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the point-of-purchase display of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the shelf edge team.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of FIG. 8 with the lower member of the shelf edge beam positioned under the front edge of the shelf.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the shelf support beam of FIG. 8 in place on the front edge of the shelf.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the shelf support beam of FIG. 8 configured for a shelf with a lip on the front edge.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of FIG. 11 with the lower leg of the shelf edge beam positioned under the front edge of the shelf.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the shelf edge beam of FIG. 11 in place on the front edge of the shelf.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the shelf edge beam.

FIG. 15 is a left end view of the shelf edge beam of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-4, a shelf edge beam is generally indicated by reference numeral 20. The shelf edge beam 20 includes a first member 22, a second member 24 and a film 26. The members 22 and 24 are generally L-shaped with generally vertical legs 28 and 30 and horizontal legs 32 and 34, respectively. The members 22 and 24 may be formed from one or more layers of paper material. Various caliper gauges of materials may be used based on the load requirements of a particular application. It should be understood that the Figures herein are for illustrative purposes only and the dimensions are not to scale.

For example, two or more layers of paper material may be formed into a right angle and laminated together with an epoxy resin to form each member.

The members 22 and 24 are glued together along the vertical legs 28 and 30 leaving a gap 36 between the horizontal legs 32 and 34 to receive the edge of a shelf (not shown). The upper edge 38 of the shelf edge beam 20 is trimmed and the outer surfaces 40 are wrapped with film or cover 26 for aesthetic purposes, as well as to provide some protection and strength to the front and top edges of the shelf edge beam 20.

The members 22 and 24 may be manufactured as one continuous member, cut into matching lengths then glued together and trimmed. Alternatively, member 22 may be manufactured separately from member 24 and the vertical leg 28 of member 22 sized to match the inside dimension of the vertical leg 32 of member 24 together with the gap 36 to reduce waste and eliminate the trimming step.

Referring to FIG. 5, tabs 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and a rear tab (not shown) may be attached to the free ends of the shelf edge beam 20 to provide additional support for the shelf edge beam 20. The tabs may include an outside adhesive layer with a peel-off film or paper to make installation of the shelf edge beam 20 quick and convenient.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4, 6 and 7, a point-of-purchase display case is generally indicated by reference numeral 60. Display case 60 includes a generally rectangular container or box 62 and a number of shelves 64. The shelves 64 are secured to the inside surface of the container 62 along the sides 66 and 68 and the back 70. The shelves 64 support a product 72, such as T-shirts, for example.

A shelf edge beam 20 is fastened to the front edge of each shelf 64. A small amount of glue (not shown) is squeezed into the channel 36 of the shelf edge beam 20. The shelf edge beam 20 is slipped over the front edge of the shelf 64. The strength of the shelf edge beam 20 comes from the two angled members 22 and 24. The force of the weight of the products 72 being supported in the middle of the shelf 64 is transferred along the shelf edge beam 20 to the outer ends to the sides 66 and 68 of the display case 60 preventing deflection and structural failure of the shelf 64.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, a hinged shelf edge beam is generally indicated by reference numeral 80. Hinged shelf edge beam 80 includes members 82 and 84 which are the same as members 22 and 24 described hereinabove. Members 82 and 84 are joined together by a flexible film or fabric 86 which forms a hinged joint 88 between the vertical legs 90 and 92 of members 82 and 84, respectively. The lower surface 94 of member 82 includes a double-sticky layer of tape 96. The upper surface 98 of member 84 includes a double-sticky layer of tape 100.

When applying the hinged shelf edge beam 80 to the front edge 102 of a shelf 104, a protective film or paper (not shown) is removed from the tape 96 to expose the adhesive. The hinged shelf edge beam 80 is applied to the lower surface of the front edge 102 of the shelf 104 with the front edge 102 in contact with the vertical surface 92 and the tape 100 in contact with the lower surface of the shelf 104 (See FIG. 9). The adhesive of tape 92 is exposed and angled member 82 is rotated about hinge 88 until the tape 96 is in contact with the upper surface of shelf 104 (See FIG. 10). It should be understood that glue may be used in place of the tape 96 and 100, and a thin layer of glue may also be applied to surfaces 90 and/or 92 to provide additional rigidity and strength to the hinged shelf edge beam 80.

Referring to FIGS. 11-13, an offset hinged shelf edge beam is generally indicated by reference numeral 120. The offset hinged shelf edge beam 120 may be used for applications where a shelf 122 has a front lip 124. The front lip 124 of shelf 122 provides additional rigidity to the shelf 120 but often does not provide enough strength. The offset hinged shelf edge beam 12 is generally identical to the hinged shelf edge beam 80 (FIGS. 8-10) with the exception of hinge 126 which is made of a film or fabric material. Hinge 126 is offset a sufficient distance to accommodate for the thickness of the front lip 124 of shelf 122. It should be understood that for the hinged shelf edge beam 80 and the offset shelf edge beam 120, the wrap 86 may be applied after the members 82 and 84 are applied to the shelf.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, another embodiment of a shelf edge beam is generally indicated by reference numeral 150. Shelf edge beam 150 includes L-shaped members 152 and 154 which are in a mirror image arrangement to present a T-shaped layout for the shelf edge beam 150. Each of the members 152 and 154 includes a layer of double-sided tape 156 and 158 respectively. Shelf 104 is sandwiched between the members 152 and 154. A backing member 160, which includes two layers of double-sided tape 162 and 164, may be applied to the vertical legs of the members 152 and 154. A wrap 166 may then be applied to cover the exposed upper and lower edges of the members 152, 154 and 160 and to provide additional strength to the shelf edge beam 150. The shelf edge beam 150 may be assembled as shown using double-sided tape, with or without backing member 160, or may be glued together and fully assembled and applied to the front edge 102 of shelf 104.

It is to be understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, is it not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims. 

1. A support for a shelf comprising: a first L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, a second L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, said vertically extending leg of said first L-shaped member secured to said vertically extending leg of said second L-shaped member, wherein said horizontally extending leg of said first L-shaped member is in a generally parallel relationship to said horizontally extending leg of said second L-shaped member, whereas said horizontally extending leg presents a gap therebetween adapted to receive the front edge of a shelf.
 2. The support as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a wrap secured to at least one exposed edge of said members.
 3. The support as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said L-shaped members is made of a laminated paper material.
 4. A support for the front edge of a shelf comprising: a first L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, a second L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, said first L-shaped member hingedly attached to said second L-shaped member and rotatable between an open position and a closed position, whereas said horizontally extending leg of said first L-shaped member is in a generally parallel relationship to said horizontally extending leg of said second L-shaped member, whereas said horizontally extending legs present a channel therebetween when in said closed position adapted to receive the front edge of a shelf.
 5. The support as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a layer of double-sided tape secured to a lower surface of said horizontally extending leg of said first L-shaped member and a layer of double-sided tape secured to an upper surface of said horizontally extending leg of said second L-shaped member, where as said layers of tape secure said support to a shelf when applied to the front edge of the shelf and in said closed position.
 6. The support as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a wrap material secured to at least one exposed edge of said members.
 7. The support as set forth in claim 6 wherein said wrap is secured to the vertically extending legs of said L-shaped members to present a hinge.
 8. The support as set forth in claim 6 wherein said vertically extending leg of said first L-shaped member is offset from said vertically extending leg of said second L-shaped member to present a vertical gap therebetween, said vertical gap adapted to receive a vertically extending lip on the front edge of the shelf.
 9. The support as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said L-shaped members is made of at least one layer of a paper material.
 10. A support for the front edge of a shelf comprising: a first L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, said horizontally extending leg having a lower surface, a second L-shaped member having a vertically extending leg and a horizontally extending leg, said horizontally extending leg having a lower surface, whereas said lower surface of said horizontally extending leg of said first L-shaped member is secured to the upper surface of the shelf along the front edge, and whereas said lower surface of said horizontally extending leg of said second L-shaped member is secured to the lower surface of the shelf along the front edge.
 11. The support as set forth in claim 10 further comprising a wrapping material secured to said vertically extending legs of said L-shaped members.
 12. The support as set forth in claim 10 further comprising a generally rectangular panel secured to an outer surface of said vertically extending legs of said L-shaped members.
 13. The support as set forth in claim 12 further comprising a wrapping material secured to said vertically extending legs of said L-shaped members and an outer surface of said rectangular panel.
 14. The support as set forth in claim 12 wherein said L-shaped members are made of an at least one layer of paper material. 